Chapter 11--The latest installment of this fan fiction is up. I hope you enjoy it and thanks for reading and the comments!

The two women stood with the other spa guests in bathrobes against the wall. Some of the women still wore their hair in towels and others wore facials. All of them looked at the robber fearfully. He walked up and down, waving his gun.

"Which one of you are loaded," he asked, "I mean this is Beverly Hills isn't it?"

C.J. and Gracie looked at each other. He thrust his gun in their direction.

"Well is it," he pressed.

An older woman wearing a lime green terry cloth bathrobe nodded.

"Okay then hand over your jewelry," he said, reaching out the hand not holding the gun, "All of it."

The woman just looked at him.

"My purse is in my locker," she said, "Should I go get it?"

She started to move but he waved the gun at her so she stopped.

"No one moves," he ordered.

C.J. raised her hands.

"No one's moving," she said, "See we're all standing still just as you asked."

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Who are you," he said, "Some bored Beverly Hills wife coming to get her weekly spa treatments to hold onto her husband or are you the spoiled mistress?"

"Is there a third answer," Gracie asked.

The man looked confused, but he kept the gun aimed at the women.

"What do you mean," he said.

Gracie snorted.

"Like none of the above" she said, "We just came here to relax before the big charity gala tonight but we're two working girls."

"You mean you're…"

Gracie frowned.

"That didn't come out the way it was intended."

"No it didn't," C.J. agreed.

The man grew impatient.

"Ladies, this is a robbery," he said, "Now stop jabbering and hand over your jewelry."

The women started taking off their rings and their necklaces. Ginger walked in with her wheat germ beverage that she kept at arm's length. She took in the sight and froze.

"What is going on here," she said.

Gracie rolled her eyes.

"It's a robbery," she said, "Can't you tell?"

Ginger put her glass down on a table and folded her arms.

"Of course I can," she said, "There's a man holding a gun on all of you."

The agitated man shifted his attention and his gun in her direction.

"And you too," he said, "Now get your ass over to that wall."

She threw him a look.

"You don't have to get all forceful about it," she said, "All you have to do is ask."

He gestured with the gun and she complied, but not without grumbling.

"This isn't another one of your ex-boyfriends is it," she said to C.J.

"No, they're all either in prison or accounted for," C.J. responded.

"Shut up over there," the man barked.

Ginger harrumphed.

"How dare you tell us to be quiet when you're holding a gun at us and ordering us to hand over our prized possessions," he said.

The man shrugged.

"Hey they're just fancy rocks," he said, "Your husbands can always buy you new jewelry."

"I'm not married," Ginger said, "but I do have plenty of boyfriends who are generous so I guess I can spare a couple pieces for your collection."

With that, she began taking off her necklace and her earrings.

"Lady, I want all of it," the robber said.

"I don't believe this," Gracie said, "We're just handing over our belongings to a two bit hood."

"One with a gun," C.J. said, "So if we're going to act, we're going to have to be careful."

"Got anything planned?"

C.J. watched the robber carefully as he began collecting jewelry from the other women.

"I'm going to that gala tonight."

The robber came over to them.

"You sure like to gab a lot," he said, "Are you sure you're not one of those spoiled upper society wives?"

"No," C.J. said, "I don't even have a boyfriend let alone a rich one."

Gracie nodded.

"I've been trying to find her one but you know what the dating scene is like in this town…"

The man nodded.

"Tell me about it," he said, "My good for nothing fiancée left me at the altar to marry the CEO who owns this place."

Gracie raised her brows.

"Really," she said, "Is that why you came here, to get back at her groom?"

He lowered the gun a little bit.

"Well I had a car payment to make too and her no good husband fired me from the tennis club," he said, "I was the best towel boy they ever had."

"I bet."

C.J. watched his as he began to relax. The man began to frown just when she thought he might settle down.

"Why should you rich bitches care about my life," he said, starting to pace again, "All you do is sit on your butts all day while your rich husbands bring home the money so you can spend it."

That irritated C.J.

"Watch it with the language," she said.

He just looked at her.

"Listen here," she continued, "I've always worked for a living and never had any of my boyfriends support me and I have to tell you your decision to denigrate women through your choice of words is probably why your fiancée left you."

His mouth dropped open.

"You don't know squat," he said, "None of you do."

"Nice going C.J.," Ginger said, "Now he's going to kill us all and then take our jewelry from our dead bodies."

C.J. shook her head.

"I don't think so," she said, "And he's getting nothing from me."

Ginger turned to the gunman.

"She might have a death wish seeing as how her latest boyfriend got back together with my friend here but the rest of us don't," she said, "In fact, I'm looking forward to going to the party tonight to help my friend here celebrate her reunion with her fiancé."

Elizabeth looked at Ginger.

"What are you talking about?"

Ginger smiled.

"Elizabeth dear, I'm trying to convince him to let us go," she said, under her breath.

"But Matt and I, we're not getting married," she said, "In fact, he dumped me."

"Shhhh," Ginger said, "The whole world doesn't need to know that especially before the gala."

Elizabeth sighed.

"What is it to you anyway," she said, "It's my personal life and Matt and I have decided to go our separate ways."

"You could still get him to change his mind…"

The robber walked over to them.

"Stop whispering," he said, "I hate it. My no good hussy of an ex-fiancée used to whisper on the phone all the time. Now I know why.

Elizabeth nodded.

"I know how you feel," she said, "I just got…"

Ginger shook her head.

"No, I've got to say this," Elizabeth protested, "I had a fiancé I loved very much and we're supposed to get married but I had to call it off."

"Why," the robber asked, "He didn't make enough money?"

She looked down at her hands.

"No he's a multi-millionaire, but that's not the point," she continued, "He has a very dangerous profession and I was so scared I would lose him or the police would call me and tell me he had been murdered."

"Was he a cop?"

She shook her head.

"No, he helped people but what he did put him in danger," she said, " she said, "I thought I could handle that part of his life but when push came to shove and someone tried to disrupt our wedding, I realized I couldn't."

"That was her ex-boyfriend," Ginger said, pointing to C.J., "He spoiled everything."

C.J. really couldn't argue with that. Robert Tyler had made a mess of a lot of things including his own life but he had plenty of time to think about it locked up in prison.

"I left him but with the passage of time, I realized that I still loved him and that I had made a horrible mistake leaving him," Elizabeth said.

"And he didn't want you back," the robber finished, "That's a really sad story but I'm sure you got what you deserve."

He pointed his gun at her.

"I should just pull this trigger now and do him a favor."

C.J. moved between Elizabeth and the gun.

"Don't do that," she said, "It's my fault really. I went on his honeymoon with him and I…seduced him."

Ginger and Gracie looked at her incredulously but Elizabeth didn't appear too surprised. The robber tilted his head.

"And then you dumped him."

"What we had in Tahiti was…very special," C.J. said, "But I've been friends with him most of my life and that's very special too. I didn't want to risk losing that."

Ginger snorted.

"He would have dumped her anyway," she said, "If Elizabeth can't keep him interested, she would never stand a chance."

Gracie put her hands on her hips.

"Hey, that's not true," she said, "In fact, he told me he didn't want to end things. He did it just to respect her feelings."

C.J. looked at her startled.

"He did what?"

The robber shook his head.

"What is it with you women and dumping men," he said, "We can never stand a chance with the lot of you. You want it all. A great body and a thick wallet."

Ginger held up her hand.

"Wait a minute here," she said, "What about you? You expect your women to have perfect hair and body, perky breasts, narrow waist and long hair you can run your fingers through…"

"What are you mumbling about," the robber asked, "All I wanted was for Buffy to return my calls."

Elizabeth nodded.

"All I wanted was for Matt to love me," she said, "We were going to be married. Why does love have to be so complicated?"

"That could still happen," Ginger reminded her, "but we still have to get our pedicures done before we'll be ready to head back and get dressed for tonight which means he has to leave."

The robber raised his gun.

"I'm sorry but I don't think that's going to happen."

Matt sat in his office, sifting through a pile of papers that had been faxed from Houston Enterprises back in Texas. Murray who was acting president had been preparing for a business deal that had caught Matt's interest when it had first been proposed but today, Matt had a lot of other work to catch up on before doing battle with yet another tuxedo tie and getting it under control before tonight.

Roy walked in carrying some more folders.

"This is the last of it," he said, "I think Murray's going to give the fax machine a break for now."

Matt sighed.

"When I first heard about this business deal, I thought it was a great opportunity," he said, "But it's gotten so complicated."

"I can see you don't miss the life of a CEO," Roy said.

"Hardly," he said, "Not that I didn't have a great time building up the company but I think I like my current line of work much better."

"Need any help?"

Matt shook his head.

"I'm going to leave most of this work until Monday," he said, "I'm going to try and have a good time tonight."

"It should be fun," Roy said, "I heard they hired a great jazz band. Should attract a nice crowd."

"It will be nice to not think about work for a few hours," Matt said, "Though we're no closer to finding out why Clyde Jenkins is in L.A. and who he's working for."

"I thought you agreed to let Hoyt and the LAPD handle that end," Roy said.

"I only agreed to think about it," Matt said, "But I've been crossing paths with this guy a lot during the past several days."

"You don't think it's a coincidence?"

Matt paused.

"Probably," he said, "He doesn't seem interested in me or any of my current cases. He just seems really dangerous."

"Whatever he's done, will catch up to him," Roy said, "It usually does."

"I really hurt Elizabeth," Matt said.

"She needed to know the truth," Roy said, "It would have hurt more down the line."

"I know," Matt said, "I did really love her but I think I loved the thought of having a wife and family even more."

Roy patted his nephew on the shoulder.

"You will have that someday," he said, "I remember thinking the same way that you do now but the day will come along with the woman and you'll have no doubts."

"I really believed she was the one who would bring it all together."

Roy smiled.

"You're still young," he said, "You have plenty of time to figure it out."

And with that, he walked away.

C.J. looked at the robber who had returned to waving his gun at all of them and wondered how much longer this siege was going to last. She looked at her watch and realized that an hour had passed since he had first arrived demanding their jewelry.

"Are you saying you're not going to let us go," she asked.

The robber seemed uncertain.

"All I wanted was for…"

"Buffy to like you," C.J. finished, "Well certainly you've learned by now in life that you can't have everything that you want."

"That's easy for you to say," he sniffled.

"No, it's not," C.J. continued, "We all have to make difficult choices. I had to help send the man I loved to prison last year."

"He didn't give you that diamond collection you wanted, or that fancy car?"

C.J. sighed.

"No, he kidnapped and murdered people to get ahead in his career," she said, "He tried to kill my best friend and facing that was one of the most difficult things I ever had to do."

"So you betrayed him," the robber said, "That's what you women always do simply because we aren't perfect."

Ginger looked at him cross eyed.

"Her ex-lover's in prison right now," she said, "After getting out on a furlough program and totally destroying my friend's chance to have a joyous wedding with her fiancé."

"That's not what happened," Elizabeth started.

Ginger interrupted her.

"But in his case, he definitely belongs in prison," she said, "Though I have to say C.J. here definitely knows how to pick them."

He turned to look at C.J.

"Did you want to betray him," he asked.

He still had the gun in his hand so C.J. had to be diplomatic in her response.

"I loved him," she said, "We knew each other in college and ran into each other years later and he was everything I wanted. Or so I thought."

He nodded.

"And he still wanted to be with you after what you did."

C.J. narrowed her eyes.

"In a matter of speaking, I guess that's what his attempts to force me to marry him at gunpoint were all about," she said.

"And you sent him back to prison," he said, shaking his head.

She looked at him irritated.

"He did that on his own," she said, "It's his decision how he's going to behave and his responsibility."

"But if he was trying to push ahead in his career to impress you…"

She held up her hand.

"I loved him," she said, "It didn't matter whether he was an anchor for the Big Three or a cub reporter."

He shook his head.

"That's what they all say," he said, "but when push comes to shove…"

"I was willing to resign my position at a company I spent years at to be with him," C.J. said, "I chose him over my best friend until I came to my senses."

"Maybe Buffy will come to her senses," he said, thoughtfully.

C.J. kept her eyes on his gun which he held to his side.

"Maybe," she agreed.

She listened and began to hear sirens in the distance. She wondered who had contacted the police. Soon she heard vehicles coming to an abrupt stop in front of the building. The man heard them too and began getting agitated again.

"Are they coming for me," he asked, looking around.

Gracie lifted her brows.

"You think?"

"I didn't hurt anyone," he said looking at the women standing against the wall.

"They won't hurt you if you turn yourself in," C.J. said, "You should probably consider doing that."

The man looked at her indecisively.

Matt's chair squeaked as he leaned backward in it and closed his eyes. A pile of paperwork lay in front of him and he had gone through most of it but just couldn't look at it anymore. He would stop working soon and head on to the beach house to get ready for the gala. He sighed, wishing there was a way to get out of it.

Roy popped his head in the office.

"Finishing up here soon?"

Matt looked up and nodded.

"I'm not going to look at any of this until Monday," he said, getting up.

Roy nodded.

"Wise choice," he said, as Matt prepared to leave his office.

The phone rang. Matt looked at it debating whether he should pick it up or let it ring. Roy looked at him and finally Matt picked up the receiver.

"Hello."

"Matt, it's Jason," he said, "We've got some of your friends here. They were in a day spa while it was being robbed."

"Are they okay," Matt asked.

"A little shaken up but fine," Jason said, "They said that the man walked in the spa planning to rob it to get back at his fiancée's boyfriend."

"So what happened?"

"C.J. talked him into surrendering and it ended peacefully," Jason said.

Matt closed his eyes.

"I'll be right there…"

"Matt, they're fine and they're leaving to get ready for that big charity bash tonight," Jason said.

"But they could have been hurt," Matt countered,

"They're fine," Jason said, "In fact, they're getting their manicures done right now and then they'll be heading home to get read."

Matt sighed.

"And the guy's going away for a while?"

"He's in jail with no bail," Jason said, "And we're going to try to keep it that way."

"Thanks for calling me," Matt said.

"It's been a busy couple of days hasn't it?"

Matt couldn't disagree with that. He said goodbye and hung up the phone and prepared to leave the office to go home and get ready for a gala he didn't really want to attend. Wondering if life could get any more complicated.